Scarlett heading west for vital op

Scarlet for Scarlett day as children from The Willows Catholic Primary School wear red to raise money for fellow pupil Scarlett McCracken. She is pictured centre with William Melling, Declan De Santi, Theresa Boylan and Maisie Brook.

Published:13:00Tuesday 03 March 2015

£90,000 treatment, which is not available in this country, is being paid for by the NHS

Family were left needing around £14,000 to cover their costs while they are in Oklahoma

Around 400 patients have been sent abroad since 2008 – mostly children

A brave young girl who needs urgent treatment to save her eyesight will tomorrow fly to America to start potentially life-changing therapy.

At 10.20am, Scarlett McCraken, her mum and her grandmother are set to lift off on their way to Oklahoma to meet the doctors tasked with stopping her going blind.

It follows a month of intensive fund-raising in order to pay for the trio to stay in the States while the 10-year-old undergoes proton beam therapy.

The £90,000 treatment, which is not available in this country, is being paid for by the NHS, but the family were left needing around £14,000 to cover their costs while they are in Oklahoma.